2.01--General Schedule

In any month containing five (5) Fridays, Final Hearings will be scheduled on an as needed basis on any fifth Friday.

2.02--Other Hearings

Adoptions and other cases not specifically listed but also within the Court's jurisdiction shall be scheduled as needed by appointment through the Judge's Office. The Boyle County Office may be reached at 859-239-7090 and the Mercer County Office at 859-734-3192.

For time-sensitive matters, the Court will schedule hearings on its own motion.

2.03--General Motion Practice

To set a matter for hearing on the Court's Circuit Motion Hour, the movant shall contact the Circuit Clerk in the county where the Hearing will be held. Notice of the hearing shall include the date and time for which the motion is set. All pleadings including any attachments shall be served on all other parties or their counsel and a copy forwarded to the Court. Motions may only be scheduled in the county in which an action was filed. Orders shall be delivered to the Circuit Court Clerk.

After securing a motion date, the movant must file the motion with the Clerk's Office by the close of business on the fifth business day after obtaining the date. The Clerk shall remove from the docket any motion not timely filed.

Motions are set for ten minute hearings beginning at 1:30 p.m. with the last motion time being 2:50 p.m.

No motions involving different subject matter filed in response to the original movant's will be heard during the time originally reserved by the movant without the movant's consent. Absent the movant's consent, the responsive motion may only be heard if the proponent of the responsive motion obtains approval from the Clerk by reservation of additional time. Motions for continuances or for a Case Management Conference date are NOT considered responsive motions within the purview of this rule.

The Court reserves the discretion to continue until later in the day, or reschedule to another day any hearing which exceeds the time reserved.

Notice of all motions must be served on all necessary parties no less than four (4) working days prior to any scheduled hearing.

2.04--Pendente Lite Motions

Pursuant to FCRPP 6(2), a hearing for temporary custody, timesharing, visitation or child support shall be conducted within thirty (30) days of filing. The Clerk shall reserve the first half-hour of the Court's motion docket for said temporary motions.

Nothing shall prohibit a party or counsel from filing for a time other than the first half-hour of the docket if it complies with FCRPP 6(2) or if a party or counsel is willing to waive the 30 day requirement of the Rule.

2.05--Case Management Conference (CMC)

Motions solely for the purpose of obtaining a Case Management Conference (CMC) date shall be filed on the Court's CMC docket. Said motion should be noticed for 1:31 p.m. on the appropriate day (Mercer County--Tuesday, Boyle County--Thursday).

Counsel and/or parties shall appear at the beginning of the Court's Circuit Court Motion Docket to obtain a Case Management Conference date from the Judge's staff. Parties may also file a motion for a Case Management Conference date in connection with a substantive motion.

2.06--Status Quo Orders

The Court will conduct a docket at 1:15 p.m. prior to the beginning of its regular Circuit Court Motion Hour. New dissolution actions will be called to determine if the Court should enter a Status Quo Order in the case.

The Clerk, upon return of proof of service, an entry of appearance, or other adequate notice of the Respondent, will schedule the case for the first available 1:15 p.m. docket that is twenty (20) days after the Respondent has been noticed.

Parties and/or their counsel are free to tender Agreed Orders to the Court reflecting an agreement to enter or not enter a Status Quo Order in their case.

2.07--Parent Education

The Court will conduct a docket at 1:15 p.m. prior to the beginning of its regular Circuit Court Motion Hour. New custody and dissolution actions concerning minor children will be called to determine if the Court should enter an Order to require the parties to attend a parent education class.

The Clerk, upon return of proof of service or other adequate notice of the Respondent, will schedule the case for the first available 1:15 p.m. docket that is twenty (20) days after the Respondent has been noticed.

2.08--Dismissal Docket

To ensure conformity with Kentucky Rule of Civil Procedure 77.02(2), this Court shall periodically review all pending actions on its dockets. Notice shall be given to each attorney of record of every case in which no pretrial step has been taken within the last year that the case will be dismissed in thirty days for want of prosecution except for good cause shown.

The court shall enter an order dismissing without prejudice each case in which no answer or an insufficient answer to the notice is made. In lieu of appearance, a party or counsel may file a Notice of Filing indicating that said party or counsel desires to keep the matter on the Court's active docket. However, all such cases may be redocketed by the Court for a Status Hearing. At said Hearing, the parties or counsel shall advise the Court of the progress of the case and the need for it to remain on the active docket.

2.09--Orders

At the conclusion of a hearing, the Court may Order that counsel for a party prepare the Order that reflects the Court's rulings. If the opposing party is represented by counsel, the attorney charged with preparing the Order shall then submit it to opposing counsel to sign off on a ‘Have Seen’ basis before it is submitted to the Court for entry. The Court may not require a ‘Have Seen’ if the other party is pro se.

If an attorney submits an Order to opposing counsel and that attorney fails to sign off on a ‘Have Seen’ and submit it to the Court; the drafting attorney may submit same to the Court if it contains a verification by the drafting attorney that the Order was tendered to opposing counsel with no response for a period of no less than seven (7) business days. If attorneys disagree on how an Order should be drafted, the responsive party/attorney may file a motion requesting clarification or further Orders from the Court within seven (7) business days of receipt of the Order.

The Court requires that only one order be tendered for the Court's signature. Upon the Court's approval, the Clerk will then enter the Order and send copies to all parties or their counsel.

2.10--Agreed Orders

If parties resolve a contested issue, they may submit an Agreed Order to the Court prior to their Hearing for the Court's review and approval. The parties shall notify the Clerk at the earliest time possible that there no longer exists a need for a hearing.